AN ACT to amend and reenact §7-14D-2, §7-14D-5, §7-14D-7, §7-14D-
9c, §7-14D-13, §7-14D-14, §7-14D-15, §7-14D-16, §7-14D-23 and
§7-14D-30 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all
relating to the Deputy Sheriff Retirement System Act; making
technical changes, modifying definitions; clarifying when
membership ceases; specifying procedures for the correction of
errors; defining employer error; permitting rollovers of any
dollar amount; clarifying loan offsets at time of withdrawal;
providing onset date for receipt of disability benefits;
providing for the termination of disability benefits when a
retirant refuses to submit to a medical examination or provide
certification from their physician of continued disability;
removal of option for members with loans to purchase declining
term insurance; permitting subsequent loans to members sixty
days after full payment of an outstanding loan; and providing
for the collection of fees from employers for untimely payment of contributions.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-14D-2, §7-14D-5, §7-14D-7, §7-14D-9c, §7-14D-13,
§7-14D-14, §7-14D-15, §7-14D-16, §7-14D-23 and §7-14D-30 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:ARTICLE 14D. DEPUTY SHERIFF RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT.
§7-14D-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless a federal law or regulation or
the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(a) "Accrued benefit" means on behalf of any member two and
one-quarter percent of the member's final average salary multiplied
by the member's years of credited service. A member's accrued
benefit may not exceed the limits of Section 415 of the Internal
Revenue Code and is subject to the provisions of section nine-a of
this article.
(b) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts
deducted from the compensation of a member, or paid on his or her
behalf pursuant to article ten-c, chapter five of this code, either
pursuant to section seven of this article or section twenty-nine,
article ten, chapter five of this code as a result of covered
employment together with regular interest on the deducted amounts.
(c) "Active member" means a member who is active and
contributing to the plan.
(d) "Active military duty" means full-time active duty with any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, including
service with the National Guard or reserve military forces when the
member has been called to active full-time duty and has received no
compensation during the period of that duty from any board or
employer other than the Armed Forces.
(e) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value
computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates
as set and adopted by the retirement board in accordance with the
provisions of this article.
(f) "Annual compensation" means the wages paid to the member
during covered employment within the meaning of Section 3401(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code, but determined without regard to any
rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based upon the
nature or location of employment or services performed during the
plan year plus amounts excluded under Section 414(h)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code and less reimbursements or other expense
allowances, cash or noncash fringe benefits or both, deferred
compensation and welfare benefits. Annual compensation for
determining benefits during any determination period may not exceed
$150,000 as adjusted for cost of living in accordance with Section
401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(g) "Annual leave service" means accrued annual leave.
(h) "Annuity starting date" means the first day of the first
calendar month following receipt of the retirement application by
the board: Provided, That the member has ceased covered employment
and reached early or normal retirement age.
(i) "Base salary" means a member's cash compensation exclusive
of overtime from covered employment during the last twelve months
of employment. Until a member has worked twelve months, annualized
base salary is used as base salary.
(j) "Board" means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board
created pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(k) "County commission" has the meaning ascribed to it in
section one, article one, chapter seven of this code.
(l) "Covered employment" means either: (1) Employment as a
deputy sheriff and the active performance of the duties required of
a deputy sheriff; or (2) the period of time which active duties are
not performed but disability benefits are received under section
fourteen or fifteen of this article; or (3) concurrent employment
by a deputy sheriff in a job or jobs in addition to his or her
employment as a deputy sheriff where the secondary employment
requires the deputy sheriff to be a member of another retirement
system which is administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement
Board pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code:
Provided, That the deputy sheriff contributes to the fund created
in section six of this article the amount specified as the deputy
sheriff's contribution in section seven of this article.
(m) "Credited service" means the sum of a member's years of
service, active military duty, disability service and annual leave
service.
(n) "Deputy sheriff" means an individual employed as a county
law-enforcement deputy sheriff in this state and as defined by section two, article fourteen of this chapter.
(o) "Dependent child" means either:
(1) An unmarried person under age eighteen who is:
(A) A natural child of the member;
(B) A legally adopted child of the member;
(C) A child who at the time of the member's death was living
with the member while the member was an adopting parent during any
period of probation; or
(D) A stepchild of the member residing in the member's
household at the time of the member's death; or
(2) Any unmarried child under age twenty-three:
(A) Who is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited
college or university;
(B) Who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal
income tax purposes at the time of the member's death; and
(C) Whose relationship with the member is described in
subparagraph (A), (B) or (C), paragraph (1) of this subdivision.
(p) "Dependent parent" means the father or mother of the
member who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal
income tax purposes at the time of the member's death.
(q) "Disability service" means service received by a member,
expressed in whole years, fractions thereof or both, equal to one
half of the whole years, fractions thereof or both, during which
time a member receives disability benefits under section fourteen
or fifteen of this article.
(r) "Early retirement age" means age forty or over and completion of twenty years of service.
(s) "Employer error" means an omission, misrepresentation, or
violation of relevant provisions of the West Virginia Code or of
the West Virginia Code of State Regulations or the relevant
provisions of both the West Virginia Code and of the West Virginia
Code of State Regulations by the participating public employer that
has resulted in an underpayment or overpayment of contributions
required. A deliberate act contrary to the provisions of this
section by a participating public employer does not constitute
employer error.
(t) "Effective date" means July 1, 1998.
(u) "Final average salary" means the average of the highest
annual compensation received for covered employment by the member
during any five consecutive plan years within the member's last ten
years of service. If the member did not have annual compensation
for the five full plan years preceding the member's attainment of
normal retirement age and during that period the member received
disability benefits under section fourteen or fifteen of this
article then "final average salary" means the average of the
monthly salary determined paid to the member during that period as
determined under section seventeen of this article multiplied by
twelve.
(v) "Fund" means the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement
Fund created pursuant to section six of this article.
(w) "Hour of service" means:
(1) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to payment for covered employment during which time active duties are
performed. These hours shall be credited to the member for the
plan year in which the duties are performed; and
(2) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during a plan year but where no
duties are performed due to vacation, holiday, illness, incapacity
including disability, layoff, jury duty, military duty, leave of
absence or any combination thereof and without regard to whether
the employment relationship has terminated. Hours under this
paragraph shall be calculated and credited pursuant to West
Virginia Division of Labor rules. A member will not be credited
with any hours of service for any period of time he or she is
receiving benefits under section fourteen or fifteen of this
article; and
(3) Each hour for which back pay is either awarded or agreed
to be paid by the employing county commission, irrespective of
mitigation of damages. The same hours of service shall not be
credited both under this paragraph and paragraph (1) or (2) of this
subdivision. Hours under this paragraph shall be credited to the
member for the plan year or years to which the award or agreement
pertains rather than the plan year in which the award, agreement or
payment is made.
(x) "Member" means a person first hired as a deputy sheriff
after the effective date of this article, as defined in subsection
(r) of this section, or a deputy sheriff first hired prior to the
effective date and who elects to become a member pursuant to section five or section seventeen of this article. A member shall
remain a member until the benefits to which he or she is entitled
under this article are paid or forfeited or until cessation of
membership pursuant to section five of this article.
(y) "Monthly salary" means the portion of a member's annual
compensation which is paid to him or her per month.
(z) "Normal form" means a monthly annuity which is one twelfth
of the amount of the member's accrued benefit which is payable for
the member's life. If the member dies before the sum of the
payments he or she receives equals his or her accumulated
contributions on the annuity starting date, the named beneficiary
shall receive in one lump sum the difference between the
accumulated contributions at the annuity starting date and the
total of the retirement income payments made to the member.
(aa) "Normal retirement age" means the first to occur of the
following: (1) Attainment of age fifty years and the completion of
twenty or more years of service; (2) while still in covered
employment, attainment of at least age fifty years and when the sum
of current age plus years of service equals or exceeds seventy
years; (3) while still in covered employment, attainment of at
least age sixty years and completion of five years of service; or
(4) attainment of age sixty-two years and completion of five or
more years of service.
(bb) "Partially disabled" means a member's inability to engage
in the duties of deputy sheriff by reason of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for
a continuous period of not less than twelve months. A member may
be determined partially disabled for the purposes of this article
and maintain the ability to engage in other gainful employment
which exists within the state but which ability would not enable
him or her to earn an amount at least equal to two-thirds of the
average annual compensation earned by all active members of this
plan during the plan year ending as of the most recent June 30, as
of which plan data has been assembled and used for the actuarial
valuation of the plan.
(cc) "Public Employees Retirement System" means the West
Virginia Public Employee's Retirement System created by article
ten, chapter five of this code.
(dd) "Plan" means the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Death,
Disability and Retirement Plan established by this article.
(ee) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing of
July 1, of any designated year and ending the following June 30.
(ff) "Regular interest" means the rate or rates of interest
per annum, compounded annually, as the board adopts in accordance
with the provisions of this article.
(gg) "Retirement income payments" means the annual retirement
income payments payable under the plan.
(hh) "Spouse" means the person to whom the member is legally
married on the annuity starting date.
(ii) "Surviving spouse" means the person to whom the member
was legally married at the time of the member's death and who survived the member.
(jj) "Totally disabled" means a member's inability to engage
in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically
determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to
result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for
a continuous period of not less than twelve months. For purposes
of this subdivision: (1) A member is totally disabled only if his
or her physical or mental impairment or impairments are so severe
that he or she is not only unable to perform his or her previous
work as a deputy sheriff but also cannot, considering his or her
age, education and work experience, engage in any other kind of
substantial gainful employment which exists in the state regardless
of whether: (A) The work exists in the immediate area in which the
member lives; (B) a specific job vacancy exists; or (C) the member
would be hired if he or she applied for work.
(2) "Physical or mental impairment" is an impairment that
results from an anatomical, physiological or psychological
abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical and
laboratory diagnostic techniques. A member's receipt of social
security disability benefits creates a rebuttable presumption that
the member is totally disabled for purposes of this plan.
Substantial gainful employment rebuts the presumption of total
disability.
(kk) "Year of service". -- A member shall, except in his or
her first and last years of covered employment, be credited with
year of service credit based upon the hours of service performed as covered employment and credited to the member during the plan year
based upon the following schedule:
Hours of Service Years of Service Credited
Less than 500 ........................... 0
500 to 999 .............................. 1/3
1,000 to 1,499 .......................... 2/3
1,500 or more ........................... 1
During a member's first and last years of covered employment,
the member shall be credited with one twelfth of a year of service
for each month during the plan year in which the member is credited
with an hour of service. A member is not entitled to credit for
years of service for any time period during which he or she
received disability payments under section fourteen or fifteen of
this article. Except as specifically excluded, years of service
include covered employment prior to the effective date. Years of
service which are credited to a member prior to his or her receipt
of accumulated contributions upon termination of employment
pursuant to section thirteen of this article or section thirty,
article ten, chapter five of this code, shall be disregarded for
all purposes under this plan unless the member repays the
accumulated contributions with interest pursuant to section
thirteen of this article or had prior to the effective date made
the repayment pursuant to section eighteen, article ten, chapter
five of this code.
(ll) "Required beginning date" means April 1, of the calendar
year following the later of: (i) The calendar year in which the member attains age seventy and one-half; or (ii) the calendar year
in which he or she retires or otherwise separates from covered
employment.§7-14D-5. Members.
(a) Any deputy sheriff first employed by a county in covered
employment after the effective date of this article shall be a
member of this retirement system and does not qualify for
membership in any other retirement system administered by the
board, so long as he or she remains employed in covered employment.
The membership of any person in the plan ceases: (1) Upon the
withdrawal of accumulated contributions after the cessation of
service; (2) upon retirement; (3) at death; or (4) upon the date,
if any, when after the cessation of service, the outstanding
balance of any loan obtained by the member pursuant to section
twenty-three of the article, plus accrued interest, equals or
exceeds the accumulated contributions of the member.
(b) Any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the
effective date of this article shall within six months of that
effective date notify in writing both the county commission in the
county in which he or she is employed and the board, of his or her
desire to become a member of the plan: Provided, That this time
period is extended to January 30, 1999, in accordance with the
decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals in West Virginia Deputy
Sheriffs' Association, et al v. James L. Sims, et al, No. 25212:
Provided, however, That any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the effective date of this article has an additional
time period consisting of the ten-day period following the day
after which the amended provisions of this section become law to
notify in writing both the county commission in the county in which
he or she is employed and the board of his or her desire to become
a member of the plan. Any deputy sheriff who elects to become a
member of the plan ceases to be a member or have any credit for
covered employment in any other retirement system administered by
the board and shall continue to be ineligible for membership in any
other retirement system administered by the board so long as the
deputy sheriff remains employed in covered employment in this plan:
Provided further, That any deputy sheriff who elects during the
time period from July 1, 1998 to January 30, 1999 or who so elects
during the ten-day time period occurring immediately following the
day after the day the amendments made during the 1999 legislative
session become law, to transfer from the Public Employees
Retirement System to the plan created in this article shall
contribute to the plan created in this article at the rate set
forth in section seven of this article retroactive to July 1, 1998.
Any deputy sheriff who does not affirmatively elect to become a
member of the plan continues to be eligible for any other
retirement system as is from time to time offered to other county
employees but is ineligible for this plan regardless of any
subsequent termination of employment and rehire.
(c) Any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the
effective date of this article who has timely elected to transfer into this plan as provided in subsection (b) of this section shall
be given credited service at the time of transfer for all credited
service then standing to the deputy sheriff's service credit in the
Public Employees Retirement System regardless of whether the
credited service (as that term is defined in section two, article
ten, chapter five of this code) was earned as a deputy sheriff.
All the credited service standing to the transferring deputy
sheriff's credit in the Public Employees Retirement Fund System at
the time of transfer into this plan shall be transferred into the
plan created by this article, and the transferring deputy sheriff
shall be given the same credit for the purposes of this article for
all service transferred from the Public Employees Retirement System
as that transferring deputy sheriff would have received from the
Public Employees Retirement System as if the transfer had not
occurred. In connection with each transferring deputy sheriff
receiving credit for prior employment as provided in this
subsection, a transfer from the Public Employees Retirement System
to this plan shall be made pursuant to the procedures described in
section eight of this article: Provided, That a member of this
plan who has elected to transfer from the Public Employees
Retirement System into this plan pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section may not, after having transferred into and become an active
member of this plan, reinstate to his or her credit in this plan
any service credit relating to periods of nondeputy sheriff service
which were withdrawn from the Public Employees Retirement System
prior to his or her elective transfer into this plan.
(d) Any deputy sheriff who was employed as a deputy sheriff
prior to the effective date of this article, but was not employed
as a deputy sheriff on the effective date of this article, shall
become a member upon rehire as a deputy sheriff. For purposes of
this subsection, the member's years of service and credited service
in the Public Employees Retirement System prior to the effective
date of this article shall not be counted for any purposes under
this plan unless: (1) The deputy sheriff has not received the
return of his or her accumulated contributions in the Public
Employees Retirement System pursuant to section thirty, article
ten, chapter five of this code; or (2) the accumulated
contributions returned to the member from the Public Employees
Retirement System have been repaid pursuant to section thirteen of
this article. If the conditions of subdivision (1) or (2) of this
subsection are met, all years of the deputy sheriff's covered
employment shall be counted as years of service for the purposes of
this article.
(e) Once made, the election provided in this section is
irrevocable. All deputy sheriffs first employed after the
effective date and deputy sheriffs electing to become members as
described in this section shall be members as a condition of
employment and shall make the contributions required by section
seven of this article.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, any
individual who is a leased employee is not eligible to participate
in the plan. For purposes of this plan, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs services as an independent contractor
or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization
or similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status
of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to
decide the question.§7-14D-7. Members' contributions; employer contributions.
(a) There shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each
member and paid into the fund an amount equal to eight and one-half
percent of his or her monthly salary. An additional amount shall
be paid to the fund by the county commission of the county in which
the member is employed in covered employment in an amount
determined by the board: Provided, That in no year may the total
of the contributions provided in this section, to be paid by the
county commission, exceed ten and one-half percent of the total
payroll for the members in the employ of the county commission. If
the board finds that the benefits provided by this article can be
actually funded with a lesser contribution, then the board shall
reduce the required member or employer contributions or both. The
sums withheld each calendar month shall be paid to the fund no
later than fifteen days following the end of the calendar month.
(b) Any active member who has concurrent employment in an
additional job or jobs and the additional employment requires the
deputy sheriff to be a member of another retirement system which is
administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board pursuant
to article ten-d, chapter five of this code shall make an additional contribution to the fund of eight and one-half percent
of his or her monthly salary earned from any additional employment
which requires the deputy sheriff to be a member of another
retirement which is administered by the Consolidated Public
Retirement Board pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this
code. An additional amount shall be paid to the fund by the
concurrent employer for which the member is employed in an amount
determined by the board: Provided, That in no year may the total
of the contributions provided in this section, to be paid by the
concurrent employer, exceed ten and one-half percent of the monthly
salary of the employee. If the board finds that the benefits
provided by this article can be funded with a lesser contribution,
then the board shall reduce the required member or employer
contributions or both. The sums withheld each calendar month shall
be paid to the fund no later than fifteen days following the end of
the calendar month.
(c) If any change or employer error in the records of any
participating public employer or the retirement system results in
any member receiving from the system more or less than he or she
would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct,
the board shall correct the error, and as far as is practicable
shall adjust the payment of the benefit in a manner that the
actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which the member was
correctly entitled shall be paid. Any employer error resulting in
an underpayment to the retirement system may be corrected by the
member remitting the required employee contribution and the participating public employer remitting the required employer
contribution. Interest shall accumulate in accordance with the
retirement board reinstatement interest as established in
Legislative Rule 162 CSR 7, and any accumulating interest owed on
the employee and employer contributions resulting from the employer
error shall be the responsibility of the participating public
employer. The participating public employer may remit total
payment and the employee reimburse the participating public
employer through payroll deduction over a period equivalent to the
time period during which the employer error occurred.§7-14D-9c. Direct rollovers.
This section applies to distributions made on or after
January 1, 1993. Notwithstanding any provision of this article to
the contrary that would otherwise limit a distributee's election
under this plan, a distributee may elect, at the time and in the
manner prescribed by the board, to have any portion of an eligible
rollover distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan
specified by the distributee in a direct rollover. For purposes of
this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Eligible rollover distribution" means any distribution of
all or any portion of the balance to the credit of the distributee,
except that an eligible rollover distribution does not include any
of the following: (A) Any distribution that is one of a series of
substantially equal periodic payments not less frequently than
annually made for the life or life expectancy of the distributee or the joint lives or the joint life expectancies of the distributee
and the distributee's designated beneficiary, or for a specified
period of ten years or more; (B) any distribution to the extent the
distribution is required under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal
Revenue Code; (C) the portion of any distribution that is not
includable in gross income determined without regard to the
exclusion for net unrealized appreciation with respect to employer
securities; and (D) any hardship distribution described in Section
401(k)(2)(B)(i)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code. For
distributions after December 31, 2001, a portion of a distribution
shall not fail to be an eligible rollover distribution merely
because the portion consists of after-tax employee contributions
which are not includable in gross income. However, this portion
may be paid only to an individual retirement account or annuity
described in Section 408(a) or (b) of the Internal Revenue Code, or
to a qualified defined contribution plan described in Section
401(a) or 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code that agrees to
separately account for amounts transferred, including separately
accounting for the portion of the distribution which is includable
in gross income and the portion of the distribution which is not
includable.
(2) "Eligible retirement plan" means an individual retirement
account described in Section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code,
an individual retirement annuity described in Section 408(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code, an annuity plan described in Section 403(a)
of the Internal Revenue Code or a qualified plan described in Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code that accepts the
distributee's eligible rollover distribution: Provided, That in
the case of an eligible rollover distribution to the surviving
spouse, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement
account or individual retirement annuity. For distributions after
December 31, 2001, an eligible retirement plan also means an
annuity contract described in Section 403(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code and an eligible plan under Section 457(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code which is maintained by a state, political
subdivision of a state, or any agency or instrumentality of a state
or political subdivision of a state and which agrees to separately
account for amounts transferred into the plan from this system.
(3) "Distributee" means an employee or former employee. In
addition, the employee's or former employee's surviving spouse and
the employee's or former employee's spouse or former spouse who is
the alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as
defined in Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect
to governmental plans, are distributees with regard to the interest
of the spouse or former spouse.
(4) "Direct rollover" means a payment by the plan to the
eligible retirement plan.

§7-14D-13. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or
resignation; deferred retirement; forfeitures.

(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not eligible to receive disability or retirement income benefits under
this article is, by written request filed with the board, entitled
to receive from the fund the member's accumulated contributions
after offset of any outstanding loan balance, plus accrued
interest, pursuant to section twenty-three of this article. Except
as provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal the
member shall forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be a
member.
(b) Any member of this plan who ceases employment in covered
employment and active participation in this plan, and who
thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment may not receive
any credited service for any prior withdrawn or offset accumulated
contributions from either this plan or the Public Employees
Retirement System relating to the prior covered employment unless
following his or her return to covered employment and active
participation in this plan, the member redeposits in this plan the
amount of the withdrawn accumulated contributions submitted on
salary earned while a deputy sheriff, together with interest on the
accumulated contributions at the rate determined by the board from
the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon repayment he
or she shall receive the same credit on account of his or her
former service in covered employment as if no refund had been made.
The repayment authorized by this subsection shall be made in a lump
sum within sixty months of the deputy sheriff's reemployment in
covered employment or if later, within sixty months of the
effective date of this article.
(c) A member of this plan who has elected to transfer from the
Public Employees Retirement System into this plan pursuant to
subsection (b) of section five of this article may not, after
having transferred into and become an active member of this plan,
reinstate to his or her credit in this plan any service credit
relating to periods of nondeputy sheriff service which were
withdrawn from the Public Employees Retirement System plan prior to
his or her elective transfer into this plan.
(d) Every member who completes sixty months of covered
employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to
either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in accordance
with subsection (a) of this section, or to choose not to withdraw
his or her accumulated contribution and to receive retirement
income payments upon attaining normal retirement age.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
forfeitures under the plan shall not be applied to increase the
benefits any member would otherwise receive under the plan.§7-14D-14. Awards and benefits for disability -- Duty related.
(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article
and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes either
totally or partially disabled by injury, illness or disease; and
(2) the disability is a result of an occupational risk or hazard
inherent in or peculiar to the services required of members; or (3)
the disability was incurred while performing law-enforcement
functions during either scheduled work hours or at any other time; and (4) in the opinion of the board, the member is by reason of the
disability unable to perform adequately the duties required of a
deputy sheriff, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the
fund in monthly installments the compensation under either
subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, the member shall
receive ninety percent of his or her average full monthly
compensation for the twelve-month contributory period preceding the
member's disability award, or the shorter period if the member has
not worked twelve months.
(c) If the member is partially disabled, the member shall
receive forty-five percent of his or her average full monthly
compensation for the twelve-month contributory period preceding the
member's disability award, or the shorter period if the member has
not worked twelve months.
(d) If the member remains partially disabled until attaining
sixty years of age, the member shall then receive the retirement
benefit provided in sections eleven and twelve of this article.
(e) The disability benefit payments will begin the first day
of the month following termination of employment and receipt of the
disability retirement application by the Consolidated Public
Retirement Board.§7-14D-15. Same -- Due to other causes.
(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article
and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally or partially disabled from any cause other than those set forth in
section fourteen of this article and not due to vicious habits,
intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part; and (2) in
the opinion of the board, he or she is by reason of the disability
unable to perform adequately the duties required of a deputy
sheriff, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund in
monthly installments the compensation set forth in either
subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, he or she shall receive
sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her average full monthly
compensation for the twelve-month contributory period preceding the
disability award, or the shorter period, if the member has not
worked twelve months.
(c) If the member is partially disabled, he or she shall
receive thirty-three and one-third percent of his or her average
full monthly compensation for the twelve-month contributory period
preceding the disability award, or the shorter period, if the
member has not worked twelve months.
(d) If the member remains disabled until attaining sixty years
of age, then the member shall receive the retirement benefit
provided in sections eleven and twelve of this article.
(e) The board shall propose legislative rules for promulgation
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code concerning member disability payments so
as to ensure that the payments do not exceed one hundred percent of
the average current salary in any given county for the position last held by the member.
(f) The disability benefit payments will begin the first day
of the month following termination of employment and receipt of the
disability retirement application by the Consolidated Public
Retirement Board.

§7-14D-16. Same -- Physical examinations; termination of
disability.

(a) The board may require any member who has applied for or is
receiving disability benefits under this article to submit to a
physical examination, mental examination or both, by a physician or
physicians selected or approved by the board and may cause all
costs incident to the examination and approved by the board to be
paid from the fund. The costs may include hospital, laboratory,
X ray, medical and physicians' fees. A report of the findings of
any physician shall be submitted in writing to the board for its
consideration. If, from the report, independent information, or
from the report and any hearing on the report, the board is of the
opinion and finds that: (1) The member has become reemployed as a
law-enforcement officer; (2) two physicians who have examined the
member have found that considering the opportunities for law
enforcement in West Virginia, the member could be so employed as a
deputy sheriff; or (3) other facts exist to demonstrate that the
member is no longer totally disabled or partially disabled as the
case may be, then the disability benefits shall cease. If the
member was totally disabled and is found to have recovered, the board shall determine whether the member continues to be partially
disabled. If the board finds that the member is no longer totally
disabled but is partially disabled, then the member shall continue
to receive partial disability benefits in accordance with this
article. Benefits shall cease once the member has been found to be
no longer either totally or partially disabled: Provided, That the
board shall require recertification for each partial or total
disability at regular intervals as specified by the guidelines
adopted by the Public Employees Retirement System.
(b) If a retirant refuses to submit to a medical examination
or submit a statement by his or her physician certifying continued
disability in any period, his or her disability annuity may be
discontinued by the board until the retirant complies. If the
refusal continues for one year, all the retirants rights in and to
the annuity may be revoked by the board.§7-14D-23. Loans to members.
(a) A member who is not yet receiving disability or retirement
income benefits from the plan may borrow from the plan no more than
one time in any year an amount up to one half of his or her
accumulated contributions, but not less than $500 nor more than
$8,000: Provided, That the maximum amount of any loan shall not
exceed the lesser of the following: (1) $8,000; or (2) fifty
percent of his or her accumulated contributions. No member is
eligible for more than one outstanding loan at any time. No loan
may be made from the plan if the board determines that the loans constitute more than fifteen percent of the amortized cost value of
the assets of the plan as of the last day of the preceding plan
year. The board may discontinue the loans any time it determines
that cash flow problems might develop as a result of the loans.
Each loan shall be repaid through monthly installments over periods
of six through sixty months and carry interest on the unpaid
balance and an annual effective interest rate that is two hundred
basis points higher than the most recent rate of interest used by
the board for determining actuarial contributions levels:
Provided, however, That interest charged shall be commercially
reasonable in accordance with the provisions of Section 72(p)(2) of
the Internal Revenue Code and federal regulations issued
thereunder. Monthly loan payments shall be calculated to be as
nearly equal as possible with all but the final payment being an
equal amount. An eligible member may make additional loan payments
or pay off the entire loan balance at any time without incurring
any interest penalty. Upon full payment of the loan, a member may
apply for a subsequent loan after sixty days beginning the first
day of the month following receipt of final payment.
(b) If a withdrawal of accumulated contributions is payable to
the borrower or his or her beneficiary before he or she repays the
loan with interest, the loan balance due with interest to date
shall be deducted from the withdrawal.
(c) A member with an unpaid loan balance who wishes to retire
or who becomes eligible to receive disability benefits under any
provisions of this article may have the loan repaid in full by accepting retirement income or disability payments reduced by
deducting from the actuarial reserve for the accrued benefit the
amount of the unpaid balance plus accrued interest, if any, and
then converting the remaining of the reserve to a monthly pension
or disability benefit payable in the form of the annuity desired by
the member: Provided, That if payment of the member's monthly
retirement income or disability income is suspended or terminated
for any reason, upon recommencement of the payments, the actuarial
reduction in benefit may be recalculated for additional interest
accruals, to the extent determined necessary and appropriate by the
board.
(d) A member who ceases service with an unpaid loan balance
will no longer be a member when the unpaid loan balance, plus
accrued interest, equals or exceeds the member's accumulated
contributions.
(e) The entire unpaid balance of any loan, and interest due
thereon, shall at the option of the board become due and payable
without further notice or demand upon the occurrence with respect
to the borrowing member of any of the following events of default:
(1) Any payment of principal and accrued interest on a loan remains
unpaid after they become due and payable under the terms of the
loan or after the grace period established in the discretion of the
retirement board; (2) the borrowing member attempts to make an
assignment for the benefit of creditors of his or her benefit under
the retirement system; or (3) any other event of default set forth
in rules promulgated by the board pursuant to the authority granted in section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code:
Provided, That any offset of an unpaid loan balance shall be made
only at such time as the member is entitled to receive a
distribution under the plan.
(f) Loans shall be evidenced by such form of obligations and
shall be made upon such additional terms as to default, prepayment,
security, and otherwise as the board may determine.
(g) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary,
the loan program authorized by this section shall comply with the
provisions of Section 72(p)(2) and Section 401 of the Internal
Revenue Code and the federal regulations issued thereunder. The
board may: (1) Apply and construe the provisions of this section
and administer the plan loan program in such a manner as to comply
with the provisions of Sections 72(p)(2) and Section 401 of the
Internal Revenue Code; (2) adopt plan loan policies or procedures
consistent with these federal law provisions; and (3) take any
actions it considers necessary or appropriate to administer the
plan loan program created under this section in accordance with
these federal law provisions. The board is further authorized in
connection with the plan loan program to take any actions that may
at any time be required by the Internal Revenue Service regarding
compliance with the requirements of Section 72(p)(2) or Section 401
of the Internal Revenue Code, notwithstanding any provision in this
article to the contrary.
(h) Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary,
the loan program authorized by this section shall not be available to any deputy sheriff who becomes a member of the Deputy Sheriff
Retirement System on or after July 1, 2005.§7-14D-30. Limitation of county liability.
No county which has timely met all of its obligations under
this article is liable for any payments or contributions to the
deputy sheriff retirement plan which are owed to the plan by
another county or counties. No county commission may deposit funds
into the deputy sheriff retirement fund in excess of the amount
specified in section seven of this article, the fees set forth in
article fourteen-e of this chapter, the fees set forth in
subsection (f)(2), section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this
code, and the fees set forth in section seventeen, article three,
chapter seventeen-a of this code.